New Zealand: Rovanpera takes the lead overall

Does Kali Rovanpera see the end of the tunnel? After being weaned off the win since Estonia last July and remaining two semi-virgin results while he could secure the world title, the Toyota driver has regained the hair of the beast on the roads of New Zealand. Fourth in the general classification at the end of day one, the Finn took advantage of an eventful morning to dominate. While Craig Breen made people forget his adventures by dominating SS8, the first special on the morning episode show, Kalle Rovanperä was fastest in the timed Sector 9. While he took nearly eight seconds off Ott Tänak, it was Elfyn Evans who lost over 22.5 kilometers. In fact, after just over 9,000 metres, the Welshman was the victim of a run in which the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 did not come out unscathed. The body was damaged front and rear, but the mechanics also had problems with the brakes and low water pressure.

drama Tweet embed ⚠️ The crew is fine but the stage is marked in red 🚩#WRC | #WRClive | # Rally News

– WRC – FIA World Rally Championship (OfficialWRC) September 30, 2022

Greensmith cancels SS10

Anxiety the crew tried to resolve thanks to the water they drank. The damage left us fearing the worst for Elfyn Evans but, luckily for him, the SS10 can’t be fully challenged. While five drivers managed to complete the 5.81 kilometer course, Joss Greensmith was the victim of a violent trip that left the British driver and Swedish co-driver Jonas Anderson unharmed. The guards then raised a red flag and then simply agreed to cancel the special to allow time to clear the wreckage of the Ford Puma Rally1. At the end of this morning, Kaley Rovanpera leads the general classification by less than five seconds over Ott Tanak when Sebastien Ogier completed the top three in six and a half seconds. Elfyn Evans fell to 30sec when Thierry Neuville took advantage of Gus Greensmith’s retirement to move to fifth despite the gearbox suffering, with a third gear no longer working.

Raleigh – WRC / New Zealand
Ranking after SS9 (from 17) – Saturday October 1, 2022
1- Kaley Rovanpera – John Haltonen (FIN-FIN / Toyota) at 1h59’25” 5
2- Ott Tänak – Martin Järveoja (EST-EST / Hyundai) in 4″ 6
3- Sebastien Ogier – Benjamin Villas (FRA-FRA/Toyota) at 6″ 5
4- Elfyn Evans – Scott Martin (GBR-GBR / Toyota) at 30″ 4
5- Thierry Nouvel – Martin Wideg (Belgium Bill / Hyundai) at 1’03”9
…

Stage winners
Tanak: 2 (SS1, SS7)
Greensmith: 1 (SS2)
Evans: 1 (SS3)
Auger: 1 (SS5)
Rovanpera: 2 (SS6, SS9)
Brin: 1 (SS8)

SS10 was canceled after Gus Greensmith crashed.